Joint Industry Project Research Articles

Monotonic and cyclic lateral loading of piles in low- to medium-density chalk

Offshore and other structures often rely on driven piles to carry lateral loads. However, there is currently no established design method to cover lateral loading at chalk sites, which are widespread across Northwest Europe. This paper reports monotonic and cyclic lateral load tests on highly instrumented 508 mm and 1220 mm diameter. open steel piles driven at a well-characterised chalk test site in Kent, UK, for a recent joint industry project that developed new benchmark datasets and analyses, supported by high-quality testing. The ultimate lateral pressures mobilised in the chalk are shown to be relatively low compared to its uniaxial compressive strengths (UCS) due to pile-driving damage, natural fracturing, local yielding and brittleness. Significant gaps opened between the piles and chalk during loading, that led to a substantially softer response on unloading and subsequent reloading, as well as marked axial capacity losses. Reaction curves extracted from the field measurements and applied in a one-dimensional numerical model perform well in reproducing the monotonic lateral tests. As with piles driven in other materials, one-way cyclic lateral loading led to permanent displacement accumulation and stiffness changes that were linked to the cyclic loading parameters. Both effects were more marked under biaxial cyclic lateral loading.

Marine vibrator source motion correction for strictly monotonic sweeps

AbstractMarine vibrators represent an alternative seismic source technology that could come to market in the near future. A key challenge related to marine vibrator seismic data is the effect that phase dispersion from source motion has on the signal during transmission. As such, the recorded moving vibrator data will benefit from being phase corrected, so that the data appear as if they had been shot with a stationary source. This transformation is called the source motion correction. Previous source motion corrections used either specific dephasing operators for specific sweep types or pre‐correlation methods for any sweep type. A source motion correction dephasing operator has been derived, demonstrated and applied to real seismic data collected during a Marine Vibrator Joint Industry Project field trial of an array of marine vibrators. This dephasing operator has been made more general so that any strictly monotonic sweep through time may be used for this correction regardless of sweep type (e.g. linear or exponential). Moreover, the correction uses the pilot sweep as a direct input, measuring from it, the instantaneous frequency which can then be used to build the dephasing operator. This new more general form brings two key advantages over previous dephasing operator corrections: (1) Non‐analytically defined sweeps can now be source motion corrected, and (2) even when an analytically defined sweep (e.g. linear) is used, the transmitted sweep from the marine vibrator can vary from the theoretical input sweep; this correction can account for these changes. Furthermore, given that this source motion correction is a dephasing operator, it can be applied pre‐ or post‐correlation of the raw data with the pilot sweep, thus allowing greater flexibility in the processing. Lastly, some previously derived source motion corrections based on dephasing operators contained errors in their derivation; this new derivation addresses these errors resulting in an improved correction.

Use of equivalent interface samples during fracture mechanics investigations for the design of adhesively bonded composite reinforcements on steel structures

During an international Joint Industry Project called SBO (Strength Bond Offshore), a design strategy of adhesively bonded composite reinforcements for steel structures was developed and assessed. It relied on the use of fracture mechanics. Yet, an adaptation of the characterization tests was needed to reduce the number of samples while remaining representative of the studied reinforcement. This adaptation was called “equivalent interface samples”.This paper aims at presenting the proposed adaptation of fracture mechanics tests for mode I, mode II and mixed mode, and its use during the design strategy. First, the geometry of the samples will be presented. Then, the obtained results during the fracture mechanics experimental campaign will be introduced. Those investigations relied on the use distributed optical fiber sensor to monitor the crack propagation during the tests. The obtained toughness characterizations allowed us proposing a design strategy that was assessed in regards with experimental tests conducted on large size steel samples reinforced with adhesively bonded composite.

Development of HOIS guidance for ultrasonic NDT for non-intrusive inspection at elevated temperatures

The non-intrusive inspection (NII) of pressure vessels using external in-service ultrasonic NDT has multiple advantages compared to internal visual inspection, including the significant reduction of down-time related costs and safety benefits from avoiding manentry into vessels. The HOIS joint industry project, with support from the Net Zero Technology Centre (NZTC), has recently been focussing on NII of components with operating temperatures of up to 250°C (typical of upstream applications). These inspections are challenging because they require probes to be in contact with the hot surface much longer than for spot thickness measurements. The aim of the work has been to develop recommendations for in-service inspection of components at relatively high operating temperatures, thereby extending the benefits of the NII process, including avoiding or deferring internal visual inspection, to a wider range of vessels. Experimental trials have been performed on test components at up to ~250°C, with an emphasis on scanning ultrasonic systems used for corrosion mapping and weld inspection using TOFD and angled-beam phased-array (PA). The most successful trials gave corrosion mapping and TOFD weld examination results that had similar differences from benchmark values to those achieved in earlier ambient temperature trials. For angled-beam PA, it was found that some trials appeared to have issues with accurate correction of the data for the effects of the elevated component temperature on both the refracted beam angle and signal arrival times. Other trials were more successful in this respect. The lessons learned from trials on both ex-service and manufactured samples are leading to the development of specific guidance for NII at elevated temperatures. The paper highlights the technical challenges associated with ultrasonic scanning systems at elevated temperatures, share the lessons learned from the experimental trials and summarise the guidance developed.

A Calibration Study with CFD Methodology for Self-Propulsion Simulations at Ship Scale

This paper summarises the main findings from the full-scale Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses conducted at SINTEF Ocean on the case of MV REGAL, which is one of the benchmark vessels studied in the ongoing joint industry project JoRes. The numerical approach is described in detail, and comparative results are presented regarding the propeller open water characteristics, ship towing resistance, and ship self-propulsion performance. The focus of numerical investigations is on the assessment of the existing simulation best practises applied to a ship-scale case in a blind simulation exercise and the performance thereof with different turbulence modelling methods. The results are compared directly with full-scale performance predictions based on model tests conducted at SINTEF Ocean and sea trials data obtained in the JoRes project.

Sleeping while diving: seals at sea drift in and out of sleep at depth

In mammals, sleep is critical and ubiquitous. However, in marine mammals that spend months or entire lifetimes at sea, sleep can limit access to air and foraging opportunities and leave animals vulnerable to predation. Large, deep-diving northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) travel thousands of kilometers and spend up to 7 months at sea in search of food. We posited that combined demands to feed and avoid predators would strongly restrict aquatic sleep in seals. We built a portable, non-invasive system to simultaneously monitor electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), three-dimensional motion, and swimming behavior. EEG activity of 13 young (< 3-years-old) female northern elephant seals (N = 5 in the lab, N = 8 in the wild [N = 3 at sea]) revealed that total sleep time was indeed strongly restricted at sea compared to on land (> 6-fold difference; 10.8 ± 3.0 h/day on land, 1.7 ± 0.7 h/day at sea). Seals at sea slept during short naps (< 20 min) while resting on the ocean floor (64-249 m deep) or drifting through the water column (82-377 m deep). REM sleep in mammals co-occurs with sleep paralysis. Our data support the presence of sleep paralysis through a persistent supine inversion (belly-up posture) whenever the seal was in REM (100% of REM sleep in the open ocean). Unexpectedly, elephant seals at sea exhibited a large proportion of REM sleep (29.1 ± 4.3% of at-sea total sleep time), compared to aquatic sleep in captive Caspian seals, harp seals, walruses, and fur seals (11%, 6%, 5%, and 1% respectively). This suggests that sleep at depth allows seals to drift safely in and out of sleep paralysis. However, time for sleep is limited by near-constant foraging to support high energetic demands due to their large body size. The extreme flexibility in sleep duration exhibited by northern elephant seals is unprecedented among mammals – approaching that which is observed in migrating birds. These insights into sleep for a large, highly mobile marine mammal can contribute to our understanding of sleep’s function and pathology across mammals, including humans. Funding: NSF Graduate Resesarch Fellowship, Laurel Clark Sea to Space Physiology Research Grant, ARCS Fellowship, Sooy Graduate Fellowship, National Geographic Early Career Grant, Special Research Grant – UC Santa Cruz, Joint Industry Project (JIP2207-23) [DPC], Office of Naval Research (Grants # N00014-08-1-1195 [DPC], N00014-18-1-2822 [DPC], N00014-00-1-0880 [DPC], N00014-03-1-0651 [DPC], N00014-08-1-1195 [DPC], N00014-20-1-2762 [TMW], N00014-19-1-2178 [TMW]) This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

The axial behaviour of piles driven in chalk

This paper describes research into the poorly understood axial behaviour of piles driven in chalk. Comprehensive dynamic and monotonic axial testing on 27, mostly instrumented, piles undertaken for the ALPACA joint industry projects is reported and interpreted covering: diameters between 139 mm and 1·8 m; lengths from 3 to 18 m; different pile material types; tip and groundwater conditions; and ages after driving. The experiments show the factors that influence resistance most strongly are: (a) pile end conditions; (b) slenderness ratio and flexibility; (c) shaft material; (d) age after driving; (e) relative water table depth; and (f) whether loading is compressive or tensile. Varying the factors systematically identified a remarkable average long-term shaft resistance range from below 11 kPa to more than 200 kPa for piles driven at the same low- to medium-density chalk test site in Kent (UK). Dynamic and static analyses demonstrate that soil resistances to driving were generally well predicted by the Chalk ICP-18 short-term formulation. Considering the piles’ long-term behaviour, the Chalk ICP-18 approach over-predicted capacity, while the widely used CIRIA approach proved over-conservative for most cases. The research enabled the development of a revised ‘ALPACA-SNW’ long-term capacity assessment method that matches the test outcomes far more faithfully.

Chemical inhibition of hydrogen-air explosions: Literature review, simulations and experiments

This paper summarises the first results from the joint industry project (JIP) ‘Risk-reduction for hydrogen installations by partial suppression of explosions’ (HyRISE). The main objective of the project is to develop fundamental knowledge that can support the development of practical solutions for mitigating hydrogen explosions in congested and confined environments by means of active systems for chemical inhibition. The aim is not to extinguish the incipient flame, but rather to lower the reactivity of the fuel-air mixture prior to ignition, and thereby reduce the consequences of an accidental explosion to a tolerable level. The paper consists of three parts: a review of previous work on chemical inhibition of premixed hydrogen-air flames, simulations with the chemical kinetics software Cantera, and experiments conducted in a 20-litre explosion vessel. The results demonstrate that chemical inhibition can be effective for hydrogen-air mixtures. However, it remains to develop efficient inhibitors and practical systems that can be implemented in industrial facilities, with satisfactory performance over a wide range of hydrogen concentrations.

Tight-Rock RTA: Global Band of Shale Producers Joins Forces To Improve Crucial Diagnostic

More than three dozen oil and gas producers are working together to solve one of the grand challenges faced by all in the increasingly global unconventional sector. That is the ability to better predict tight-oil and -gas production using rate transient analysis (RTA). Considered an “unconventional diagnostic” when first introduced in the 1970s, RTA relies on fluid rates and flowing pressures to inform engineers on what their reservoirs will ultimately yield. Unfortunately, the low permeability of tight rocks and a myriad of dynamics stemming from hydraulic fracturing have undercut the simplicity of the tool. This has given rise to arguments that RTA is not a fit for unconventional reservoirs. But a joint industry project with 37 operators from around the world is betting against that notion. Those taking part represent the biggest and most active shale plays in the US—a list that includes Apache Corp., BP’s shale unit BPx. Devon Energy, EQT, Hess Corp., and Ovintiv. Others hold assets in Canada’s Montney and Duvernay formations, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Shale, and the emerging Jafurah tight-gas basin that Saudi Aramco is in the early stages of developing. The organizer behind the joint project is petroleum engineering software and consultancy Whitson. The Trondheim-based firm said the client consortium is likely the largest of its kind to focus squarely on improving RTA for tight reservoirs. In October, the multinational group wrapped up its first phase of study with a set of best practices and the release of new add-ons for Whitson’s software service. Why this might evolve into a notable development is because the deliverables are all designed to help standardize a recently debuted alternative called the numerically enhanced RTA workflow. Introduced by reservoir experts at Houston-based Apache and IHS Markit, this “enhanced” version of numerical RTA has caught the industry’s attention for its ability to account for the effects of multiphase flow in tight wells. The first details about the approach were shared with the industry in 2020 in URTeC 2967. Whitson reports that a newly established workflow for numerical RTA created with operator clients delivers consistent well analysis in seconds to a few minutes, and importantly, was proven to work across their disparate geologies. Mathias Carlsen is a general manager at Whitson and has been at the center of the joint industry project from the beginning. Here, he helps explain what the industry should know about the RTA joint project and where it is heading. Assembling a Trifecta Carlsen, a reservoir engineering expert, described the overarching goal of the joint project not as a mission to discover a panacea for RTA but one designed to fill in its big gaps with some recent innovations. “What we’ve been successful at through the joint industry project is getting the new tools ready so that the workflows can be easily used and in standardizing them for a wide range of wells found in every single unconventional basin in the world,” he said.

Evaluation of strain based ECA method in DNVGL-RP-F108

Pipelines may be subject to strain-controlled external loads exceeding yield strength of materials due to many causes, e.g., soil settlements and ground movement. There are several strain based fracture mechanics assessment methods to determine the maximum tolerable defect sizes in girth welds in pipelines. One of these methods is the DNVGL-RP-F108 procedure which was developed from a joint industry project for assessing reeled pipes and has been used for both offshore and on-shore pipelines. However, as with other methods, it requires the weld strength either even- or over-matching the parent steel which may be difficult to achieve for high strength steels. There are also uncertainties about the adequacy of the DNVGL-RP-F108 guidance addressing the effects of internal pressure and welding-induced residual stresses. In this study, the maximum tolerable defect sizes in the girth welds of an X70 spiral welded pipeline were determined using the DNVGL-RP-F108 approach. The effects of several variables on the assessment results, including weld strength mismatch, stress-strain curve magnitude, internal pressure level, fracture toughness, residual stresses and misalignment, were also investigated. A comprehensive finite element analyses were performed to verify the crack driving force determined by the DNVGL-RP-F108 approach. It was found that the DNVGL-RP-F108 approach can be conservatively applied to girth welds with a weld strength under-match by 5% in all cases, and even by 10% for most cases, for the conditions investigated. It was also revealed that use of this guidance could be unduly conservative for strength over-matching welds.

Model calibration: A hierarchical Bayesian approach

Many geotechnical engineering models are empirical and calibrated based on data gathered from various sites/projects, using optimisation algorithms with criteria like least squared errors or minimising the coefficient of variation of method bias with the constraint of mean bias equal to unity. This paper discusses the use of hierarchical Bayesian regression models for the same purpose. A database of axial capacity of piles in predominantly clay sites and a CPT-based design model, compiled and developed as part of a Joint Industry Project (JIP) led by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), is used for demonstration. The analyses focus on two related areas that the traditional approaches overlook: (i) quantification of uncertainty in the estimated parameters of the model, and (ii) modelling site-dependency of the model parameters (i.e., between-group variation). The former is important in the context of reliability-based design and contributes to establishing confidence in estimated reliability indices, particularly when only limited data are available. The latter expands our understanding regarding the domain of applicability of a model; that is, if a model is broadly applicable or highly site-dependent. The benefits of the proposed Bayesian approach are highlighted with a prediction exercise where the calibrated models are used in conjunction with limited site or project-specific data.

Validation of CFD simulations of the moored DeepCwind offshore wind semisubmersible in irregular waves

This article examines the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to predict the response of a floating wind platform to irregular-wave excitation. This work was conducted as part of the Reproducible CFD Joint Industry Project for Floating Offshore Wind Applications and involved verification across several participants and modeling tools and validation against experiments. The authors pay special attention to the uncertainties in both CFD results and experimental measurements. We perform detailed comparisons of the incident waves and the motion of a moored structure. The nonlinear, low-frequency resonance motion is of particular interest because it potentially drives the mooring and tower-base loads. The verification and validation study is partially successful in that the CFD simulations capture the low-frequency slow-drift motion well but underpredict the low-frequency pitch resonance. This underprediction can be attributed in part to the CFD incident waves, which showed some discrepancies with the experimental waves, especially around extreme events. The effects of the wave discrepancies are also estimated and investigated using a mid-fidelity OpenFAST model. Overall, the present study increases our confidence in using CFD simulations to predict the global performance of offshore wind platforms in irregular waves and to produce data for the calibration of lower-fidelity models.

JIP Focuses on Equipment Reliability in Subsea Production Systems

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper OTC 30219, “SEAR JIP: A Success Story of Collaboration and How To Improve Equipment Reliability on Subsea Production Systems,” by Adriana Botto, Wood; Manish Tomar, Chevron; and Stuart Ferrier, ConocoPhillips, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2020 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. The Subsea Equipment Australia Reliability (SEAR) joint industry project (JIP) is a partnership led by Wood with participation from a group of operators including Chevron Australia, ConocoPhillips, Inpex, Santos, Shell Australia, and Woodside. Now delivering Phase 6, the JIP is focused on collaboration and knowledge-sharing to improve the competitiveness of Australia’s oil and gas industry by addressing critical challenges associated with premature subsea-equipment failure. The complete paper provides an overview of the JIP and outlines lessons learned and value created. Background The SEAR JIP was initiated in 2014 with an aim of generating significant cost savings by improving subsea-equipment reliability and design for Australian operations, a goal best achieved through collaboration and knowledge-sharing. A reliability database was developed to collect offshore-operations failure information from SEAR members. The database provides a low-cost/high-value method of capturing lessons learned for subsea-equipment performance in Australia. A complementary test program, Transforming Australian Subsea Equipment Reliability (TASER), is under way to model innovative technologies under variable environments to validate equipment advancements. Phase 6 of the JIP aims to continue populating the reliability database while addressing two major industry challenges: the effect of marine fouling affecting equipment operability, and unwanted gas in subsea controls umbilicals. The outcome of this phase should provide opportunities for standardization, life extension, and development of new technologies. The JIP plans to issue an industry recommended practice in 2022 harnessing the lessons learned. This recommended practice will identify root causes of equipment failure and recommend material selection and mechanical design requirements for different environmental conditions. This will enable an improvement in equipment availability and a reduction in operating expenditures by minimizing offshore intervention to address failed equipment.

Review of minimum requirements and development of guidance for weld spacing

Follow-on work to a recently completed joint industry project pertaining to hot tap branch connections included the development of guidance on minimum spacing between various combinations of adjacent pipeline girth and appurtenance welds. Related guidance was also developed for the maximum recommended length of a Type B repair sleeve. Several factors may contribute to minimum weld spacing requirements, including metallurgical, geometrical, residual stresses, and even aesthetics. It is not uncommon to hear concerns expressed about the metallurgical interaction of adjacent welds, in terms of overlapping heat-affected zones (HAZs). However, overlapping or interacting HAZs do not become a concern unless welds are spaced very closely, as HAZ widths for typical pipeline welds are generally less than 0.25 in. (6.4 mm). Often, minimum weld spacing requirements are based upon geometrical reasons, such as avoiding overlapping stress concentrations at the weld toes or allowing adequate access for inspection equipment following welding. Or, they may be based upon residual stresses, and the avoidance of overlapping residual stress fields and distortion, which are influenced by pipe dimensions and the welding procedure and could approach a few inches in distance. Finally, weld spacing requirements, especially for new construction applications, may simply be based upon aesthetics, where the flexibility exists to separate welds by a distance that makes sense from a visual perspective. Examples of company-imposed and code-based minimum requirements are provided that can used to perform a critical assessment of current company requirements or develop new requirements.

Modal Investigation on a Large-Scale Containership Model for Hydroelastic Analysis

A 20,000 TEU containership with an overall length of about 400 m is designed as a target ship to investigate ship hydroelastic characteristics in the joint industry project (JIP) of CSSRC-20,000 TEU. A set of systematic model tests are carried out in the seakeeping wave basin of CSSRC. The large-scale ship model data for hydroelastic experiments are presented with the determination of modal features. The modal test of the containership model is the premise of the hydroelastic analysis. The test of the natural frequency and modal shape of the ship model can be used to corroborate the accuracy of the finite element modelling. A three-dimensional finite element model (FEM) of the ship is employed to carry out modal analysis in a vacuum and provide modal parameters to decide the large-scale ship model data for hydroelastic experiments. Through the analysis of hydroelasticity, the wet frequency corresponding to the motion of each elastic mode is obtained. Good agreement is achieved between the numerical results and the measurement data, particularly for the lower-order modes. Only when the numerical calculations of the dry and wet modes are consistent with the experimental results, the containership model's calculated motion responses and structural loads are comparable to the experimental results. Therefore, examining the modal tests is extremely important for hydroelastic analysis. As the input data, the FEM will be shared with JIP members for further comparative studies of linear and nonlinear hydroelastic analyses. The experiments help provide reliable and accurate benchmark model test data for comparative studies using numerical software and methods.

An Evaluation of the Performance of Sea Ice Thickness Forecasts to Support Arctic Marine Transport

In response to declining sea ice cover, human activity in the Arctic is increasing, with access to the Arctic Ocean becoming more important for socio-economic reasons. Accurate knowledge of sea ice conditions is therefore becoming increasingly important for reducing the risk and operational cost of human activities in the Arctic. Satellite-based sea ice charting is routinely used for tactical ice management, but the marine sector does not yet make optimal use of sea ice thickness (SIT) or sea ice concentration (SIC) forecasts on weekly timescales. This is because forecasts have not achieved sufficient accuracy, verification and resolution to be used in situations where maritime safety is paramount, and assessing the suitability of forecasts can be difficult because they are often not available in the appropriate format. In this paper, existing SIT forecasts currently available on the Copernicus Marine Service (CMS) or elsewhere in the public domain are evaluated for the first time. These include the seven-day forecasts from the UK Met Office, MET Norway, the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Their forecast skills were assessed against unique in situ data from five moorings deployed between 2016 and 2019 by the Barents Sea Metocean and Ice Network (BASMIN) and Barents Sea Exploration Collaboration (BaSEC) Joint Industry Projects. Assessing these models highlights the importance of data assimilation in short-term forecasting of SIT and suggests that improved assimilation of sea ice data could increase the utility of forecasts for navigational purposes. This study also demonstrates that forecasts can achieve similar or improved correlation with observations when compared to a persistence model at a lead time of seven days, providing evidence that, when used in conjunction with sea ice charts, SIT forecasts could provide valuable information on future sea ice conditions.

Drilling-Systems Automation Roadmap Improves Decision Making

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 199556, “Directional Drilling Automation: Human Factors and Automated Decision Making,” by Bill Chmela, SPE, Sarah Kern, SPE, and Tyler Quarles, Helmerich and Payne, et al. The paper has not been peer reviewed. A joint industry project has created a drilling-systems-automation (DSA) roadmap to help the industry understand and anticipate the direction of drilling systems automation. In the complete paper, the authors suggest that the transition from human action to automation in the general drilling space can occur across four cognitive functions: acquiring information, analyzing and displaying information, deciding action, and implementing action. They also suggest that value exists in partial automation. Directional Drilling: Human to Automated One of the more-important tasks of the directional driller historically has been to decide when to rotate the pipe from the surface in an attempt to drill relatively straight and when to stop rotation, point a bent sub in the desired direction, and determine how long to drill using only the downhole mud motor (sliding) and then implement that decision on the rig. While some directional drillers perform this task at a high level, others often fail to compensate properly for multiple variables including variations in rotary walk and build, motor-yield variations, tortuosity risks, target uncertainty, and deflections. Even expert directional drillers rarely account for reduced hydrocarbon production potential related to drilling accuracy on a survey-by-survey basis. The following individual tasks, detailed in the complete paper, have been automated in a bit-guidance system that operates across the four cognitive functions detailed in the DSA roadmap. - Acquire information - Analyze and display information - Decide action - Implement action

Subsea Electrification: Is the Tide About To Turn?

The concept of a standalone production system on the seabed with automated wellbore construction and production processes has been an industry goal for a long time. Electrification of subsea facilities and of wellbore and reservoir equipment offers many opportunities to improve operational efficiency, reduce life-of-field capital and operating expenses, and reduce carbon footprint, among other benefits. Talk of a subsea electrification revolution being “just around the corner” has been ongoing for more than 20 years. And, millions of dollars in investments and numerous joint industry projects (JIPs) over the past decade have moved the vision closer to fruition (Fig. 1). But the upstream industry continues to lag others in replacing hydraulics with electrics. The reasons echo those for slow uptake of other new technologies and methodologies—fear of change, the unknown, and failure. Now, recent events are stirring up interest and expectations. “Four to five years ago, only a very small percentage of the buying community were making big noises about the future state of the electrified subsea or subsurface,” said John Kerr, subsea production systems and technology director for Baker Hughes, in a recent interview. “During the past 18 months the narrative has increased rapidly with many more operators looking at electrification as the base case for subsea solutions. We’ve seen a groundswell of interest to the point that we now see 3-, 5-, and 7-year lookaheads with electric solutions as the base case design concept,” Kerr said. What has changed? “Electrification of subsea devices has always been a solution to solve specific technical needs,” said Kerr. “The predominant one was extreme long-distance stepouts, where once you get to 250 miles or so, the ability to pump hydraulic fluids through small umbilicals presented so much pressure loss that it became impractical to implement a hydraulic solution, so all-electric became the solution of choice. Now we are seeing much more understanding of what electrification can deliver in the commercial and operational sense. “During the last 2 years, there has also been rapid adoption of dialogue around the aspect of increased carbon credentials and carbon reduction as an advantage,” Kerr continued. “The interest is much more comprehensive, driving different behavior in concept selection for operators.” Has the pandemic played a role? The consensus of participants in a subsea electrification panel at the virtual 2020 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) was that unless you’re surrounded by a crisis, you’re not encouraged to change. “The moment you put someone in a crisis situation, they understand that they have to change,” said Rory Mackenzie, leader for subsea electrical technologies at Total. “2020—the pandemic, oil price collapse, and environmental issues—this created a crisis. People are now much more open to considering change.” The panelists included Alvaro Arrazola, completions engineer, Chevron, North America Upstream; Glenn-Roar Halvorsen, project manager subsea all-electric, Equinor; Christina Johansen, managing director, Norway, TechnipFMC; Samantha McClean, intelligent wells technical advisor, BP; Rory Mackenzie, head of subsea electrical technologies, Total R&D; and Thomas Scott, global product line director, intelligent production systems and reservoir information, Baker Hughes. Edward O’Malley, director of strategy and portfolio, oilfield services, Baker Hughes, moderated the session.

Creating a legacy of oiled wildlife response preparedness through the post-Macondo Oil Spill Response - Joint Industry Project

ABSTRACT In 2015, an ambitious wildlife response preparedness project was initiated; funded as part of the post-Macondo IPIECA-IOGP (International Association of Oil and Gas Producers) Oil Spill Response Joint Industry Project (OSR-JIP). The Global Oiled Wildlife Response System (GOWRS) Project, which involved 11 leading wildlife response organizations from seven countries, aimed to develop an international framework for oiled wildlife response as well as encourage the further development of wildlife response preparedness by industry and other stakeholders. This paper will provide an overview and assessment of the key outcomes of both the JIP-funded phase of the project (2015-16; development of internationally agreed standards and common operating procedures) and the second industry-funded phase (2017-18; focused on response readiness) in order to provide key background information to support the movement towards operationalizing the system.

The Evolution and Implementation of Tiered Preparedness & Response

ABSTRACT Simply put, responders and planners define response capability in terms of “what it is”, “how much” and “by when”. The types of capability define the “what”, for example the ability to apply dispersant to a surface slick at sea or the ability to mount an aerial surveillance operation to track and monitor the oil (and the response effort) makes up the Toolbox that responders have at their disposal to mitigate impacts of an oil spill. The IPIECA Good Practice Guide on Tiered Preparedness and Response (TPR) recognises 15 such response capabilities that could be required for any given spill scenario and is a direct output from the Joint Industry Project on Oil Spill Response following the Macondo incident in 2010. The “how-much” introduces a quantification of the capability and it is important to recognise that capability is not just a physical measure of the hardware itself (i.e. “six skimmers”) but should include assumptions about the trained manpower to deploy, and the logistical support needed to fully enable the resource to be effective. “By-when” implies a time element that is critical in cascading remote resource effectively. It follows that some capability is required to be immediately available to enable a local response to be initiated quickly and effectively whilst other capabilities, usually only required for larger or more complex spills, can be introduced on a longer lead-time. To help visualise the dynamics of “what”, “how-much and “by-when”, the IPIECA Guide provides a simple model to illustrate the provision of response capability for any given oil spill risk in the form of a wheel with 15 segments representing each element of capability. Each segment is further divided to illustrate the three tiers of cascading capability (Tier 1, near the centre representing capability immediately available, Tier 2 showing intermediate capability, and Tier 3 around the periphery to indicate additional, possibly internationally-sourced capability that necessitates a longer lead time required for the largest or most complex spills.) Planners typically use the tool when matching resources to the identified risk, as it can usefully highlight any gaps that may exist in the provision of capability. This paper draws upon the experience of Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) in applying and using the Guide and the TPR wheel, both in planning and in response. Case history evidence will be used to illustrate the benefits and limitations of this industry-adopted planning and response approach.